Seasons Chronicles Book 1
by Cobra-kun
Summary: The arrival of a new martial artist in Nerima brings more craziness and more villans. HEY! Review people! Pretty please?


Disclaimer:  As you likely know, I don't own Ranma ½, just the character I created for this little endeavor.  Ranma belongs to the great genius Rumiko Takahashi.  Also, all the Street Fighter characters I use belong to Capcom.  I'm not making any money off this.

A/N: Hello all.  This here is my first fanfic, but I'd like to think it's fairly decent.  I know its pretty long, but, there you are.  Something I want to make clear, this is not technically a Ranma/Street Fighter crossover, I just used a few characters from Street Fighter.  Anyway, on with the show.

 Book 1: Summer

          It was a well known fact that the prefecture of Nerima was one of the safest towns in all of Japan, indeed, perhaps the entire world.  Felonies like murder, arson, and larceny were unheard of. And misdemeanors were almost nonexistent.  Almost.

          It was roughly 11:30 PM in early June.  The air was warm, and the night crickets were chirping pleasantly.  It was the perfect night to be walking down the street, unless you were a young woman, who not moments before had been the target of a rare purse-snatching.  The culprits, two young punks often associated with this type of crime, ducked into an alley to check their loot.

          "Not a bad lookin' haul tonight." The first one said.

His companion nodded. "Yeah, and we got away with it too."

          "Pretty cool, huh?" A third voice said, from behind them.

The first goon chuckled. "Yeah, definitely." Then a puzzled look crossed his face. "Wait…" he turned to look into the shadows behind him just in time to see a fist connect with his nose, instantly shattering it.  His partner in crime barely had time to utter a curse when a booted foot slammed into the side of his head.  He saw stars briefly, and then collapsed.

          The woman who had been the unfortunate victim of the crime was still standing in shock, tears brimming over her eyes, when she caught a glimpse of a bulky shadow coming towards here.  She wanted to run, but fear rooted her to the spot.  The bulky shape threw something at her.  Her hands instinctively went up to catch it, it was her purse.  The figure then deposited two more shapes at her feet, the unconscious forms of her attackers.

          "Notify the authorities." The figure said, and then it turned and vanished into the night.

          Kasumi Tendo, eldest daughter of Soun 

Tendo, set the bowl of rice on the table, and then looked up and out the back door.  The sight she saw would seem highly unusual to the casual observer, but to her and the other members of the family, it was the standard daily affair.  A large, dripping wet panda was exchanging kicks and punches with a somewhat busty, dripping wet, red-headed girl in an impressive display of martial arts.  Kasumi glanced over her shoulder as her younger sisters Nabiki and Akane entered and sat down at the table.  She looked back out to the combatants.

          "Ranma, Mr. Saotome, breakfast time!"

          The panda stopped what it was doing and produced a wooden sign on which the words "Thank you, Kasumi." Were written. The opportunistic redhead, Ranma, saw the opening and belted the panda across the yard into the garden wall.  She gave a definitive snort, made a show of dusting herself off, and crossed the yard to the door.  Kasumi smiled cheerfully at her.

          "There's a kettle on the stove for you and your father,   
Ranma."

          "Thanks, Kasumi." The redhead replied and vanished into the kitchen.  With the application of hot water, she was replaced by a taller, black-haired boy of about 17.  He stepped out of the kitchen, wrung the last of the water from his tank top, and took a seat beside Akane.  He immediately began to wolf down his food.  A few minutes later the panda, having extricated itself from the garden wall, ambled into the kitchen, and was soon replaced by a heavyset, bald man in a white gi with glasses.  He joined the table and began to eat much in the same manner as his son.  The meal continued on for some time in silence before Nabiki glanced up at the head of the table where her father sat, reading the morning paper.  One of the headlines caught her eye.

          "What's that on the front page, daddy?"

Soun glanced over the top of the paper, and then turned back to the front page. "Mysterious martial artist prevents robbery." At the words 'martial artist' Ranma, Genma, and Akane looked up from their meals to pay closer attention.

          Soun continued. "Last night, at approximately 11:30 PM, an attempted purse-snatching was foiled by an apparent martial artist.  The only witness, the victim, claimed that after grabbing her purse, the two thieves ducked into an alley.  Shortly after, the sounds of a very brief fight were heard, and her purse was returned to her by someone she could only describe as a male, possibly between the ages of 18 and 25."  There was a brief silence as Soun finished.  Ranma tapped his chopsticks against his chin as he thought.

          "Maybe Ryoga wandered back into town last night."  Akane raised one eyebrow and gave him a sideways glance. 

"Or maybe it's someone else you ticked off in China and they've come for your blood."

Ranma scowled at her. "It's very comforting to know you have such a high opinion of me."

          "How could I have a high opinion of a hentai like you?"

          "I am not a pervert, you…you…kawaiikune tomboy!" Ranma shouted at her, his face turning red.

          And breakfast at the Tendo household proceeded in the usual manner.

          Cologne looked up from the newspaper she was pursuing when she heard the chimes above the door go off.  Into her restaurant stepped a young boy, looked to be around the age of 19.  A westerner, American.  What was the word the Japanese sometimes used? _Gaijin?  He had short brown hair and was wearing khaki pants with a gray T-shirt, over which was a long, black leather coat that reached down to his booted ankles.  He had his hands on his hips as he read the large menus posted above the counter.  Cologne couldn't be entirely sure, but the boy seemed to posses a higher ki than normal, close to Son-in-Law's.  She placed the paper down and leaned over the counter._

          "Welcome to the Nekohanten, what can I get for you today?"

The boy looked over at her as he approached the counter and dropped onto a stool. "Shrimp Special."  Cologne nodded and used the Amaguriken technique to fix the order in short order.  Her customer seemed to take this completely in stride.  She set the bowl before him and he began to eat. Cologne went back to her paper.         

          After a few minutes, the boy glanced up at the front page of the paper and gave a small grunt of surprise.  "Well would you look at that.  I'm front page news."

Cologne blinked her large eyes at the boy, and then looked to the front page, then back to the boy.  "This is you?" she said, indicating the article.  The boy nodded and continued eating his ramen.  Cologne reached for her staff and tapped the tip on the floor three times.  The boy seemed oblivious to what was going on until he stopped eating and looked up like something was wrong.  In the next moment, he vanished from his stool, just as a bonbori came crashing down where his head had been moments before.  Shampoo blinked as she looked at where her target had been.

          "Where he go?" she asked in her broken Japanese.  She then felt a sudden weight on the head of her weapon.  She looked to see a pair of booted feet perched on the ball.  She followed them up to see the boy standing there, arms crossed over his chest, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

          "Aiya…." She breathed.  In the next moment, the boy's feet clamped on either side of the weapons head and he performed a back flip, tearing the weapon from Shampoo's hand and creating distance between the two.  The weapon flipped through the air to be caught by the boy.  He tapped the head against his palm, looking from Shampoo to Cologne.

          "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think attempting to bludgeon your customers is good business."

Cologne cackled.  "Forgive me, but I just wanted to be sure you were who you said you were." She pointed her staff at Shampoo. "This is my Great-granddaughter, Shampoo."

          Shampoo smile brightly and raised a hand in greeting.  "Nihao!" she said cheerfully. "Shampoo have weapon back?  I promise I no attack you again."  The boy flipped the weapon in his hand, and presented the shaft to Shampoo, who took it from him.

          "I'm Chris." The boy said. "And you are?"

          "In this country, I am called Cologne." The ancient matriarch said.

Chris was about to say something else, when a loud cry broke in. "Saotome, prepare to die!"  Before he knew what was happening next, he was dodging a maelstrom of weapons attached to chains, all seeming to emanate from the sleeves of a tall boy in voluminous white robes.  He had long, black hair and a pair of thick glasses perched on his forehead and was screaming death threats while Chris tried to protest.  Finally, Shampoo bobbed the boy on the head with her bonbori.

          "Stupid Mousse, put glasses on!"  Mousse peered at Shampoo, then pulled his glasses over his eyes, and began scrutinizing Chris.

          "You're not Saotome." He said matter-of-factly.  Chris grabbed him by the front of his robes and began to shake him hard.

          "What was your first clue!?" he shouted.

          "Pay no attention to stupid, blind, duck-boy." Shampoo said disdainfully.  "He do this all of time.  Scare customers away sometimes."

Chris grunted and let Mousse go.  "Who's this Saotome anyway?"

Shampoo got a dreamy look in her pretty violet eyes.  "Ailen…" she muttered, mostly to herself.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Ailen?  Husband?"

Cologne tilted her head and gazed at Chris, then spoke in her native tongue. You speak Chinese?

Chris nodded to her. That and a few other languages. Then he switched back to Japanese.  "But now I must be going."  As he reached into his pocket for his wallet, Cologne held up and hand to stop him.

          "Since you were attacked, your meal is free."

Chris smiled and bowed to her. "Xiexie."  He waved to Shampoo, glared at Mousse, then turned and left the shop.  He was a few steps down the street when he heard a voice calling to him to wait up.  He turned and saw Mousse running up to him.  Chris was about to begin a tirade at the boy, but Mousse spoke first.

          "Please, before you say anything, allow me to apologize for my earlier behavior.  It was not my intention to do you harm, I mistook you for someone else."

Chris peered at the Chinese boy for a while, and then nodded. "Apology accepted."  He turned and continued down the street, Mousse fell into step beside him.

          "You are new in town, are you not?"  Chris nodded.  "I am Mu Tsu, although here in Japan, I am more commonly called Mousse."

          "I'm Chris Lewin."

          "You are American?"

          "I am."

          "You speak Japanese very well."  Mousse adjusted his glasses slightly.

          "I've lived here for most of my life, training."         

Mousse nodded. "Yes, I can see you're a martial artist of some skill."

Chris glanced at Mousse as they walked.  "So who is this Saotome you mistook me for?"

Mousse scowled.  "Ranma Saotome is a vile womanizer who seeks to take my Shampoo away from me."  Chris could tell right away that Mousse's opinion was anything but unbiased. 

          "I see."

Mousse ranted on.  "Shampoo and Cologne seem to think that Shampoo is obligated to marry him, simply because he accidentally defeated her in combat, even though he has three other fiancées!  Well, two actually, Kodachi doesn't really count.  Anyway, I must return to the Nekohanten before the afternoon rush.  Perhaps we shall meet again."

          Chris nodded.  Despite the early mishap, he found he could get along fairly well with Mousse.  He watched as the boy bounded across the rooftops, and then continued down the street.

Akane strolled through the market, glancing side to side at the different stalls, stopping occasionally to peruse some of the merchandise before moving on.  Beside her, arms crossed behind his head, starring at the sky, Ranma "ho-hummed" for about the fifth time in the last half-hour.  Akane frowned up at him.

          "If you're so bored, why did you agree to come in the first place?"

Ranma glanced down at her and stuck his tongue out.  "If I'm not here to keep an eye on you, who knows what kind of useless junk you'd come home with."

Strangely, to Akane, Ranma's jab was a little more light-hearted than usual.  And then he did something that really threw her off her game: he _smiled at her!  Akane smiled back at him, and he turned a light shade of red and looked away again.  Classic Ranma.  Again, oddly, Akane found it less irritating than normal._

And then they heard the cry. A cry they had heard almost everyday for the past year: "Thief! Underwear thief!"  Followed by the voice of an old man: "What a haul, what a haul!"  And they'd see the tiny form of Happosai bounding down the street, a huge sack of stolen women's underwear tied to his back, followed by a mob of bloodthirsty girls clutching various killing implements.

Ranma grunted in exasperation.  "It's the old freak." And he prepared to go put a stop to him, when a dark shape darted in front of Happosai and sent him sprawling to the pavement.  He looked up to see a brown-haired boy in a long black coat drop to the street before him.

The old man sputtered in indignation. "What do you think you're doing?!"  Chris bent down and picked the sack, peering in.  "Really now, underwear?  And at your age?"  He threw the sack to the mob of girls.  "Sorry about that ladies, rest assured the situation is under control."  As the girls dispersed, Happosai was beside himself.

          "I'll teach you to interrupt my work, boy!" he produced one of his firecrackers.  "Happo Dai Karin!" and he hurled it at Chris.  Chris caught the ball in one hand, pinched out the wick with the other, and threw the useless firecracker over his shoulder.  Happosai stared at Chris for a few moments, and then bolted.  Chris pursed him.  Happosai got a few feet up the road when he ran into Ranma's outstretched foot.  Happosai blinked and looked up, then immediately put on his best pleading face.

          "Ranma m'boy, help your master against this villain!"

Ranma loomed over the old man.  "Who's a villain?"  At that moment, Chris descended on Happosai and proceeded to pound him into the pavement, an activity Ranma enthusiastically joined, before the two double-kicked him into the stratosphere. 

Chris watched him vanish from sight, and then turned to Ranma. "Is this a normal activity around here?"

Ranma nodded.  "Pretty much.  I'm Ranma Saotome." He held out his hand.

Chris raised an eyebrow.  "The vile womanizer?"  Ranma frowned.

          "You've been talking to Mousse I see."

Chris shrugged and shook his hand.  "Yeah, but I figured his onion was a little one sided, I'm Chris Lewin." 

Akane nudged Ranma in the ribs.  Ranma grunted.  "And this is Akane Tendo, my fiancée."  He said the last part so quietly, Chris almost didn't hear him.  He bowed to her.  "Charmed."

Akane bowed back.  "Likewise, would you like to join us for dinner, Dad and Mr. Saotome would love to hear how you helped get rid of Happosai."

Chris smiled and bowed again.  "Love too."

          "We're home everyone!"  Akane called as she, Ranma, and Chris entered through the door.  Kasumi came out to greet them.

          "Welcome back you two."  She said pleasantly, and then spotted Chris.  "Oh my, you've brought a guest."

          "This is Chris, Kasumi; he helped us in the market today beat Happosai."  At this, Soun and Genma rushed into the room and dropped at Chris' feet, bowing and prostrating themselves.

          "You helped defeat the master?!"  Soun gushed.  "Please, make yourself at home, anything you need!"  Chris looked at Ranma and raised an eyebrow.  Ranma shrugged back.

          "Dad!"  Akane cried.  "Stop that, you're embarrassing yourself!"  Soun and Genma jumped to their feet, composed.

          "Ahem, yes."  Soun cleared his throat.  "In any case, welcome to my home.  Come Saotome."  And the two friends returned to their perpetual shogi game.

          "I'll have to set an extra place for dinner."  Kasumi said.

Dinner was a lively affair.  Everyone was excited at having a new guest who wasn't trying to kill Ranma and marry Akane, or vice versa.

          "So tell us son, what martial art do you study?"  Soun asked.

Chris swallowed the rice he was chewing.  "The Shotokan School of Karate." 

          "Shotokan, didn't the master tell us about that school once, Tendo?"  Genma asked as he tried to steal a pickle from Ranma, only to be denied.

          "I think you're right Saotome, very exclusive."

Chris nodded.  "There have only been three students this generation, myself and two others."

          "How'd you get in?"  Ranma asked, foiling another attempted theft of his food by his father.

Chris shrugged.  "I guess my master Gouken just saw something in me when he took me in."

Nabiki leaned forward a bit.  "How did you come to live in Japan?  You're American, right?"

Chris nodded.   "I stowed away on a freighter leaving San Francisco bay heading for here."

          "Aren't your parents worried?  Do they know you are?"  Nodoka asked, concerned.

Chris shrugged again.  "What parents?  I've never known them."  The room seemed to grow quiet as everyone else looked at their bowls, unsure what to say.  Chris seemed perfectly comfortable about admitting the fact.  Finally, Ranma looked up, going for a change of subject.  "Say Chris; want to have a little spar in the dojo?"

Chris nodded, all too happy to oblige.  "Sounds like fun Ranma."

          The entire household was assembled in the dojo after dinner to watch as Chris and Ranma faced each other down.  Ranma slid back into a ready stance.

          "Whaddya say we go at half our normal skill, until we get a feel for each other?"

Chris dropped into his own stance.  "Fine by me."

Ranma glanced at his long coat.  "Don't you wanna take that off before we start, so it doesn't get in the way?"

          "Nope."  Was all Chris would say.

Ranma shrugged.  "Okay."  And he rushed Chris, throwing a punch slower than he normally did, but still faster than the average person.  Chris brushed the punch away and clamped his hand around Ranma's wrist.  Then, pivoting on his left foot, he snapped his right up to Ranma's chin.  Ranma caught the foot in his free hand and the two stayed deadlocked like this for a few moments.  Then, Ranma made to sweep Chris' foot out from under him.  Chris allowed himself to be dropped and grabbed onto the front of Ranma's shirt, using the momentum to monkey-flip him.  Ranma sailed through the air and twisted, landing on his feet.  Chris flipped himself up and turned to face him.  The two sized each other up, then Ranma made his move again, flying through the air with a kick.  Chris leapt over Ranma's leg and pushed off the back of Ranma's head as he sailed under, the extra momentum sent Ranma skidding gracelessly across the floor.  Chris chased him and attacked him as soon as he got to his feet.  The two then exchanged kicks and punches at an amazing pace.  Both blocked most, but a few got through on both sides.  Eventually, the two broke apart, neither having broken a sweat yet.

          "Not bad for a work out, whaddya say we get serious now?"  Ranma asked.

          "Fine by me."  Chris said, and pulled off his long coat, throwing it off to the side of the dojo.  It landed with a loud, audible *THUMP*.  Ranma barely had time to consider this when Chris was upon him, moving considerably faster than before.  Ranma decided to pull out the big guns.

          "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"  He shouted, letting loose with his Chestnut Fist.  Amazingly, Chris did a fair job of blocking and dodging the flurry of punches, but eventually, the sheer volume forced him to draw back, creating distance.

          "So we're gonna go along those lines, huh?  Alright, allow me to introduce you to the three principle special attacks of the Shotokan School.  Shotokan Special Technique, Number 1: Hurricane Kick!"  Chris leapt in the air and began spinning like a top, lashing out with his feet, flying straight at Ranma.  "Tatsu Maki Sen Pu Kakyu!"  Ranma found himself in a desperate situation avoiding Chris' booted feet. He managed to block most of them, but the last shot clipped him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards.  Chris recovered from the move, not dizzy at all, and was on Ranma again.

          "Shotokan Special Technique, Number 2: Rising Dragon Uppercut!"  Chris bent at the knees and uncoiled like a spring, slamming into Ranma's jaw with a vicious punch.  "Shoryuken!"  Ranma flew through the air and landed hard on his back.  Chris landed from the punch and waited to see if Ranma would recover.  Indeed, Ranma pulled himself to his feet, battle aura flaring blue around him.

          "Mokou Takabisha!"  

          "No Ranma, not…!"  Akane started, but it was too late.  Ranma let loose with his big ki blast.  Chris dove to the side and the beam continued on and blew a gaping in the dojo wall.  "Inside."  Akane finished lamely.  Chris pulled himself up and had just enough time to see Ranma's foot before it connected with his chest and sent him flying out the hole into the backyard.  The spectators got up and moved to the hole, watching the combatants outside.  Chris spent most of the time on the defensive, as Ranma had apparently gotten his second wind.  They battled around the yard until Ranma was standing between Chris and the koi pond.  Chris pulled back to let loose with his final attack.

          "Shotokan Special Technique, Number 3: Lightning Ball Blast!"  Ki, in what looked like the form of blue electricity, began to coalesce into a ball in Chris' cupped hands.  "Hadouken!"  The ball shot forward and slammed into Ranma's chest, sending him flying into what he inevitably always ended up in, the koi pond.  Chris watched as Ranma hit the water a male, and came up a female.  He stared at the red-headed girl a while, while Ranma looked miserable.  Finally, Chris' eyes widened.

          "I know!  You fell in a pond at Jusenkyo!"  Everyone stared at him in shock.

          "You…you know about Jusenkyo?"  Ranma asked, not quite sure she heard right.

          "Oh sure, I've been there."  Then, off their looks,  "Oh, I didn't fall in or anything."

Ranma continued to sit there, waiting for the insults to come.  But they never did.  Chris just held his hand out to her, and helped her out of the pond,

          "We'll call this one a draw, eh?"  Chris asked.

          "Ye…yeah, sure.  Ranma said, clearly happy Chris was taking it so well.

Kasumi attempted to lift Chris' coat, but was surprised to find it was incredibly heavy.  "Chris, is there something wrong with your coat?"  Chris picked it up and threw it on with no apparent difficulty.

          "No, nothing wrong, it's just weighted is all."

Genma nodded.  "Weighted clothing, a tried and true technique for muscle training."

          "Correct.  This coat currently weighs seventy-five pounds, though I'm thinking of making it heavier, I barely feel it anymore."

Everyone face-faulted.

          "But I've had okonomyaki before."

                   "Yeah, but not like _this!"_

It was the following day.  Soun had graciously agreed to allow Chris to stay with the Tendo's until he found his own lodging.  Now, Ranma was half pulling Chris down the street.

          "I'm telling you, _nobody makes okonomyaki like Ucchan."   Ranma's mouth was obviously watering at the thought.  Chris took this as a good sign._

          "Ucchan…she's the 'cute fiancée' right?"

          "Yeah, that's her."

          "Doesn't it bother you, having all these fiancés?"

          "A little, I guess."

          "Well, is there any particular one you want to be engaged to?"

          "NO, NONE OF THEM!"  Ranma said a little too quickly, and a little too loudly.

          "Uh-huh."  Chris said, not entirely sure he believed his pig-tailed friend. 

          "Oh look, we're here!"  Ranma said, glad for a change of subject.  He pushed the door to the restaurant open.  

          "Hey, Ucchan!"  He called.

          "Hi Ranchan!"  Ukyo called back from behind the counter, as she sent an okonomyaki flying across the restaurant onto a customer's plate.  The hot summer weather had caused her to forgo her normal chef's attire for something a bit more comfortable, namely cutoff shorts and a tank top.  She waved to Ranma, then caught sight of Chris.  "Who's your new friend, Ranchan?"

          "Ucchan, this is Chris Lewin.  Chris, meet Ukyo Kuonji." 

Chris bowed to her.  "Nice to meet you."  (Man, Ranma wasn't kidding about the cute part.)

Ukyo smiled brightly.  "Pleasure's all mine Sugar, take a seat."  (Wow, he's as good looking as Ranma.)  Chris hopped onto a stool next to Ranma, who had already begun to inhale his first okonomyaki.  Ukyo set one on the plate before Chris and he picked it up, biting into it.  His eyes immediately lit up, and he began eating in much the same manner as Ranma.  Ukyo giggled.

          "I guess that means you like it huh?"

Chris attempted to reply in the affirmative, but had to settle for nodding, since his mouth was full.  Ukyo went off to tend to other customers.  Ranma turned to Chris.

          "So was I right or what?"

Chris swallowed.  "You were right on, this is undeniably the best I've ever had."

          "You're a shameless flatterer, Sugar."  Ukyo said, walking back over.  "So how long are you in town for, Chris?"

Chris shrugged.  "A few weeks at least.  I move around a lot.  Unless something catches my attention."

          "Believe me, plenty happens here to catch your attention."

Ranma and Chris went through several more helpings before standing to leave.  On the way out, Chris flashed Ukyo a smile that, despite her current fixation on Ranma, made her stomach flutter.

          Just outside of Nerima, on a hill that overlooked the town, two figures stood.  One was tall and slender, his long, blond hair pulled back in a braid.  He wore the traditional pants and shoes of a matador.  A snake tattoo could be seen winding around his bare chest.  On his left hand was three-bladed battle claw.  An expressionless white mask covered his face.  His companion was big and stocky, dressed in an entirely red outfit, with a wide brimmed hat and long black cape.  His impossibly square jaw set in a grim line. He turned to the other.

          "We've followed him here, move against him swiftly."

The blonde haired man nodded silently, claw flashing dangerously in the sunlight.

          "Hold, Saotome!  For you must now face the righteous vengeance of Tatewaki Kuno!" 

          "Oh, man."  Ranma stopped walking and turned to face Kuno.  He and Chris had been walking home from Ucchan's when Kuno's extremely loud voice stopped them in their tracks.  "Kuno, I really don't feel like dealing with you right now, I just ate."

          "Be silent, scoundrel!"  Kuno shouted, brandishing his bokken.  "You shall take the punishment I plan to mete out!  And who is this?"  He pointed the tip of his wooden sword in Chris' face.  "An unscrupulous accomplice in your acts of villainy?" 

Chris raised both eyebrows.  "Name's Chris Lewin, and you'd best get that big stick out of my face before you wind up sucking on it."

Kuno's eyes narrowed.  "You will not speak to me thus!  Any friend of Ranma Saotome's is and an enemy of Tatewaki Kuno!"  Kuno rushed Chris, bringing his bokken down at Chris' head.  Chris caught the weapon with his hands, while Ranma rushed the side and planted his foot in Kuno's face.  Kuno bounced a few feet and hopped up almost right away.  He gave a furious battle cry and charged, striking out with his bokken at lightning speed.  Ranma leapt over Kuno, pushing him in the back of the head.  The swordsman stumbled forward, right into Chris' reach.

          "Shoryuken!"  Chris' uppercut launched Kuno into orbit.  "Well, that was…interesting." 

          Mousse flipped the top of the dumpster open and tossed the garbage bag in.  He let the lid slam shut and began to cross the alley to the door that led back into the Nekohanten's kitchen.  It was approaching midnight and the restaurant was closed for the night.  Mousse had been taking out the day's garbage and was heading back inside to finish closing up when he stopped dead in his tracks.  All his senses were screaming that something was amiss.  He tilted his head to one side and strained to listen.  There…a faint rustling.  There was no breeze tonight, so it couldn't be a stray piece of garbage blowing in the wind.  Maybe a cat or…his hands drifted into the sleeves of his robes.

Then the attack came.  The only indication Mousse had was the glint of metal in the moonlight.  He leapt over the deadly claw and let fly an arsenal of assorted weapons.  His opponent dodged and weaved between the chains, displaying incredible flexibility.  He rebounded off a wall and flew at Mousse again, claw extended for his heart.  Mousse spun to the side and sparks flew as the blades hit the brick wall.  Mousse backed up and released another weapon volley.  Again, his attacker dodged the majority of them, except for one knife, which tore through the flesh on his bare shoulder.  The slender man hissed, and crazed eyes narrowed behind blank mask.  The masked man crouched like a tiger and leapt.  Mousse tried to dodge, but the claw caught the front of his robes and tore three long slashes from the chest down.  Weapons came tumbling out and Mousse was forced to discard the garment.  He looked down at his chest and saw three, parallel bloody slashes where the tips of the claw blades had caught him.  Mousse knew he was in trouble now.  He knew in hand-to-hand combat, he wasn't as good as say a Ranma, or Ryoga.  And his intuition was right.  Sensing a weakness, or else simply smelling blood, his opponent attacked with renewed ferocity.  Mousse dodged as best he could, but the masked man's claw and unbelievably flexible legs kept catching him.  Mousse, bruised and bloodied, stumbled back against a pile of metal garbage cans, knocking them over with a loud clatter.  His attacker grabbed him by the throat and made ready to run him through with his claw.  Mousse squeezed his eyes shut, wished he could've had one more chance to tell Shampoo he loved her, and waited for the end.  It never came.  He heard a low whistle, like something being swung through the air, and the man's grip disappeared from his throat.  He slumped to the ground and opened his eyes, where he saw Cologne, with Shampoo behind her facing off with the masked man.  The clawed attacker, faced with the prospect of fighting two angry Amazons, decided that discretion was the better part of valor and fled.  Cologne gave chase, while Shampoo bent to check on Mousse.

          "Sh…Shampoo." He muttered weakly.

          "Shampoo and Great-Grandmother in kitchen, wondering why you take so long.  About to go check on you, when heard crash.  We rush out and see you about to be killed.  Who was man in mask?"

          "I…I don't know."

Shampoo helped him to his feet, supporting him.  "I clean you up now."

At that moment, Cologne returned.  "I lost him, he moves devilishly fast.  Let's take care of Mousse, and then we'll try to figure out what to do about this situation."

The next morning, Kasumi opened the door to the greeted by Cologne.  She stepped aside to allow the matriarch to enter, and she hopped into the dining room atop her staff.

          "Hey, what's up, old ghoul?  Ranma greeted her, less than cordially.

Cologne ignored Ranma's affront, as she had done many times before. "Son-in-law, I've come to tell you that Mousse was attacked last night.  Please come to the Nekohanten this afternoon."

          "Attacked by whom?"  Akane asked.

          "I didn't get a good look at him.  Mousse will fill you in. Good day."  And with that, she bounded off.

That afternoon, Ranma showed up at the Nekohanten accompanied by Akane and Chris.  He got no more than two feet in the door when there was a shout of "Ailen!" and he was glomped by Shampoo.  Akane fumed, Mousse scowled from his seat but did not move to attack, and Chris seemed to find the whole situation somewhat humorous.

          "Please, come sit down."  Cologne said from where she and Mousse sat at a table.  A protesting Ranma sat down with Shampoo still attached to him.  Akane pretended she didn't see the two, and took a seat between Mousse and Chris.

          "So who attacked you last night, Mousse?"  She asked him.

          "I don't know his name, but he had blond hair in a braid. He wore a white mask on his face, and battle claw on his left hand.  And he had this big snake tattoo on his chest."

Chris made a surprised noise.  "Sounds like Vega."

          "You know him?"  Ranma asked.

          "Well, I know _of him.  Vega is from Spain, where he made a name for himself as a matador.  Bullfighter."  He corrected off their confused looks.  Then he vanished for a few years and resurfaced as a participant in various street fighter circuits, where he made a bigger name for himself as a vicious combatant.  He combined the techniques he used as a bullfighter with Ninjitsu.  He has a reputation for being extremely vain.  He wears a mask to protect his face, and a claw to give him an advantage in battle._

          "But why is he in Japan, and why would he attack Mousse?"  Cologne mused.

Chris shrugged.  "That I don't know.  People have always said Vega isn't playing with a full deck, but there's no record of him being this far east, and I don't recall ever hearing about him attacking someone at random."

          "Well."  Cologne began.  "The advice I can offer based on what Chris has said is to be on your guard until we get to the bottom of this.  And don't leave the house alone if at all possible, especially after dark."

Everyone nodded, and Chris and Akane stood to leave.  Ranma finally managed to extract himself from Shampoo to follow them.  Akane turned to talk to Chris as they walked the streets.

          "Do you really think this Vega person is responsible?"

Chris shrugged again.  "Based on Mousse's description, that's the only conclusion I can draw.  It just doesn't make any sense."  He turned to Ranma.  "We should call Ukyo when we get home, let her know what's going on."

Ranma nodded his agreement, and the three continued on their way, noticeably more weary than they were before.

Mousse locked the door after Chris and the others left.  Although he had healed well enough from his injuries, he was still sore and moving slower than usual.  He had acquired new robes, and restocked his weapon supply.  He had never thought of his robes as heavy before, but in his current condition, he was definitely feeling the weight.  He turned and saw Shampoo looking at him, slight worry evident in her pretty violet eyes.  She had been taking good care of him since his attack by Vega, but long experience had taught him not to expect anything more from it.  She was still very much intent on making Ranma her husband, and likely always would be, no matter how much Saotome protested.

          You should get more rest, Mu Tsu.  You're not completely healed yet. Shampoo's words in Chinese broke into Mousse's thoughts.  There were many things he wanted to say to her, but he knew they would do him no good, not now at least.  So he settled for Yes Xian Pu, I think you're right. And mounted the stairs to his room.

          Soun Tendo contemplated the shogi board before him, deciding on his next move.  "I don't think we have much to worry about, eh Saotome?"

          "You're right about that, Tendo."  Genma awaited his friends move and began to think how he could cheat to gain the advantage.

Akane was incredulous.  "Dad!  I can't believe you're treating this so lightly!"

          "Relax Akane."  Nabiki said.  "Between you, Ranma, Chris, Daddy, and Mr. Saotome, no one's gonna try and attack us."

At that moment, Ranma came into the room.  "Ukyo said she was going to be extra careful, and will call if she sees or hears anything suspicious."

Chris nodded.  "Is there anyone else we should give the heads up to?"

          "There's the Kuno's, but I doubt they'll listen to us anyway."

          "I'll warn Kuno-baby."  Nabiki offered.  "He usually takes me somewhat seriously, most of the time."

          "What about Ryoga?"  Akane asked, sounding concerned.

Ranma scowled briefly, and then put on his best happy face.  "We have no way of reaching him.  But hey, knowing him, he's probably too far away to be in any danger."

          "I hope so."  Then, Akane's eyes got wide.  "What about P-Chan?!" 

Now Ranma lost it.  "Nobodies gonna attack your stupid pig!"  he shouted. 

Akane fumed.  "P-Chan is _not stupid!  Why are you always __picking on him?!"_

          "If you knew half the things I knew about him, you'd think differently about you pwesious widdle P-Chan!"

What could you possibly know about P-Chan?"

Ranma opened his mouth to say more, then just made a frustrated noise and stomped off to his room.

Chris blinked, looking back and forth between the still fuming Akane, and the spot Ranma just vacated, and then followed Ranma upstairs.  "Hey man, who's P-Chan?" 

          "P-Chan is really my rival, Ryoga Hibiki.  He was cursed by Jusenkyo to turn into a little black piglet.  Akane doesn't know that Ryoga and P-Chan are the same, and keeps him as a pet.  Sleeps with him and everything.  And Ryoga happened to be in love with Akane."

          "So why don't you tell Akane?"

          "Because I swore by the warrior's code not to."

          "Hmm, that must really bug you then, him sleeping with her like that."

Ranma turned red.  "IT DOES NOT! She can sleep with whoever she wants for all I care!"

Chris smirked and patted Ranma on the shoulder.  "Sure buddy, whatever you say."

          "Why is he not dead yet?"

          "He is surrounded by friends, fighters all."  Vega purred in a low voice.

          "And he knows of your presence, thanks to your blunder at the restaurant with the Chinese boy."

Vega's eyes narrowed behind his mask.  "I do not blunder.  Help arrived, I was outnumbered."

          "You took too long making the kill, you always do."

          "Shall I make it quick for you?"

          "Don't be foolish.  Now, you are here because you need help making the kill?"

          "I need no one!"  Vega near screamed.  "I just need something to distract his friends.  Then I can kill him easily.  Surely the great leader of Shadowlaw can accommodate me?"

Under the brim of his hat, M. Bison narrowed his pure white eyes.  "I'll give you command of some of my fighter cyborgs.  That should provide you with the distraction you need."

The following night found Ukyo bringing in her shop sign as she closed down her restaurant.  She locked the door behind her and began to wipe down the counter.  She looked up again when she saw three dark shapes looming outside the door.  She assumed they were customers who would see she was closed and come back another time.  But when they were still there five minutes later she began to grow uneasy.  She reached over the counter for her battle spatula, and as soon as she grabbed it, her door exploded inward under a vicious kick.  Three men stepped in.  Ukyo thought at first they were just common thieves, and then she noticed they all looked _exactly alike.  The same blank expressions, the same pupil-less eyes, and the same simple pants and tunics, which were emblazoned with a grinning skull sprouting wings._

The three spread out to surround her while she hefted her spatula.  She swung at the head of the closest one, but he ducked and the one her leapt at her with a kick.  She twisted to the side and swept her spatula around, catching him in the ribs with the flat side.  The man didn't so much as grunt and wrapped an arm around the shaft, pinning it against him.  Ukyo let go of the weapon and leapt over the third one's charge, flinging a handful of mini-spatulas. They sunk into the back of his head and neck.  Sparks flew and he dropped to the ground, convulsing.

          "These goons are some kinda crazy robots." She whispered to herself.  Smiling grimly, she leapt back into the fray.

Shampoo sat straight up in bed, positive she had heard something downstairs.  She threw off her covers and crept out into the hall.  She stuck her head in Cologne's room, but her great-grandmother was not there.  She turned to see Mousse stepping out of his room, tugging on his robes. He crept up to her and whispered.

          Did you hear something?

          I think so, downstairs.

          Where is Khu Lon?

Shampoo shook her head. Not in her room.

Mousse nodded and slipped silently over to the stairs and began to move slowly down.  Shampoo followed close behind, suddenly wishing she was dressed in more than her fairly sparse nightgown.  She hadn't even grabbed her bonbori.  Mousse reached the bottom of the stairs and peered into the kitchen.  The back door was ajar, letting in the gentle summer breeze.  He then moved into the dining room and flipped on the lights.  He was confronted by three men who could've been clones of each other.  As soon as they were exposed, they didn't waste words and simply leapt to attack.  Mousse went to meet them, followed by Shampoo, and the battle was joined.

Tatewaki Kuno sat perched on a rock in the sprawling front yard of his mansion.  The warm breeze fluttered through his brown hair as he meditated, bokken within easy reach by his side.  He snapped open his eyes when he heard a noise.  Something had stepped on a twig, the sound echoing through the otherwise silent yard.  Kuno jumped to his feet, bokken held at the ready.

          "Who stalks the night?  Show thyself!" 

There was the sound of more movement, multiple footsteps moving in his direction.  "Be you man or beast, you are trespassing on the property of Tatewaki Kuno!  I demand you show your presence to me at once!"

Three identical looking men stepped into the light cast by the porch behind them.  "What business have you here?"  Kuno demanded of them.  Rather than answer, they rushed to attack.  Kuno side-stepped the first one's lunge and swung his bokken towards his midsection.  It connected, and the wood made a dull, metallic thud.  He withdrew his weapon and swung downwards.  With a swing that could crush rocks, he removed the man's arm at his shoulder.  Sparks flew, and Kuno could see the wires and electronics that constituted the attacker's innards.

          "Constructs?"  Kuno muttered, bewildered.  Though he had no time to puzzle over it, as the other two were upon him.

Akane strolled down the deserted street, Ranma next to her.  He had thought her insane, wanting to take a walk this late at night, but had of course refused to let her go alone.  When Akane asked him why, he had said it was because Cologne had said to stick together.  But now, Ranma seemed to be enjoying himself, and he was even being nice enough to her to hold a civilized conversation.

The mood was broken, however, when they saw who was waiting for them up ahead.  Illuminated by the light of a street lamp, claw held diagonally across his chest, was Vega.

          "A pity."  He purred.  "You aren't who I was looking for, but killing you should make good sport regardless."

Ranma moved protectively in front of Akane.  "Listen up mask boy, I don't know who you think you are, but I'm fixing to shut that mouth of yours!"  then he leaned back and whispered to Akane.  "Get outta here."

          "I want to help."

          "Are you nuts? Leave!"

Akane was getting angry.  "I'm not useless you know!"

Ranma saw Vega sliding closer and started to get nervous.  "If you really want to help, go back to the house and get Chris and the others."

Akane found she couldn't argue with that logic.  "Be careful."  She whispered, and dashed off.

          "Running won't save her."  Vega said, sliding into a ready position.  "I'll find her eventually."

          "You don't touch her!"  Ranma shouted, and leapt to engage Vega.

Chris was sitting in the Tendo's living room with Kasumi, Nabiki, and Nodoka, watching Soun and Genma play shogi when Akane burst in out of breath.

          "It's Ranma!  He's fighting Vega, he needs help!"

Chris leapt to his feet. "Where?"

          "I'll show you, follow me!"

Soun and Genma stood.  "What do you want us to do?"  Genma asked.

          "Stay here, someone needs to keep watch on the house if anything happens to us."  Chris said, then dashed out with Akane.

Ukyo swung her spatula in a wide arc and cleaved through the head of the last of her robotic attackers.  She leaned on her weapon, catching her breath as she surveyed the damage.  The door would have to be replaced, as well as a few tables and chairs.  And the robot parts strewn around would have to be disposed of.

          "This has to be more than some random attack."  She mused to herself.  "I better see if Ranchan and the others are ok." And she dashed out of her shop.

A few blocks down the street, she spied Mousse and Shampoo leaving the Nekohanten, looking sweaty and tired.

          "Hey!"   Ukyo called, running over.  "Were you guys attacked too?"

Mousse nodded.  "Yes, by three identical robots."

          "Thou was attacked as well?"  the three turned to see Kuno striding up to them.  "I was also forced to defend myself against similar miscreants.  I came here to see if perchance anyone had some insight into this."

          "I was just on my way to the Tendo's, c'mon!"  And she took off down the street with the other three in tow.

Ranma flipped out of Vega's range, barely escaping losing his arm to his opponent's dangerous claw.  (Man, he's good.)  Ranma thought.  (But I haven't been doing so bad myself.)  Indeed, Vega was noticeably breathing heavily, and he had a few cracks in his mask from an Amaguriken technique.  Ranma's clothes were torn in several places, and he had a few cuts, but the two were fairly evenly matched.  He prepared to engage Vega again when he heard footsteps running.  He turned to see Chris and Akane coming up the street.

Vega let out a low hiss.  "So, my prey saves me the trouble of finding him."  Chris dashed passed Ranma and attacked Vega.  Akane came up next to Ranma.

          "Are you alright?"  she asked.

Ranma nodded as he watched Chris battle Vega.  Punches and kicks were exchanged.  Vega slashed out with his claw, Chris ducked and made to sweep out his legs.  Vega leapt over and the two locked up again.  Chris stayed close enough that Vega had trouble bringing his claw to bear.  Finally, Vega leapt over Chris' head and landed near Ranma and Akane.  Akane took a chance and tried to kick him, but she was too slow.  Vega grabbed her leg and backhanded her with his bare hand, sending her sprawling to the pavement.

          "Akane!"  Ranma yelled, and prepared to battle when Chris descended on Vega.

          "Get her out of here!"  he shouted.  "It's me he wants!"

Ranma nodded and scooped Akane up and bounded off with her.

Ranma came to rest a few blocks over.  He set Akane on the ground and began to gently shake her, trying to wake her up.  Eventually, her eyes fluttered open and Ranma let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

          "Are you ok?"

She nodded.  "Yeah, he got me in the jaw.  There'll probably be a bruise, but I don't think anything's broken."

          "We'll see Dr. Tofu in the morning, just to be sure."  Ranma was smiling, visibly relieved Vega got her with his fist, not his claw.  Akane looked up at him and noted how, when he didn't have his foot in his mouth, how incredibly handsome he was.  Sometimes infuriatingly so.  She reached up and with one hand and gently touched his cheek, where he had a small cut.  He blushed furiously red and looked down, but didn't pull away.

          "Ranma, there's something I have to know…"

Ranma shook his head.  "Not now Akane, Chris still needs our help."

Akane bit her lip, but nodded in agreement.  "You're right. Later."

Ranma swallowed and nodded.  "Later."  He helped her to her feet, and the two went to rejoin the battle.

Chris took a deep breath and gauged his opponent, trying to read his next move.  He had long ago discarded his weighted coat, to keep up with Vega's speed.  He had been fairing about as well as Ranma had, able to keep Vega at bay, but not able to land a fight-winning blow.  Chris tensed and prepared to attack again when two small objects whizzed by his head.  He recognized them as Ukyo's throwing spatulas.  Vega easily dodged them, but was forced to move backwards, farther out of attack range.  Chris glanced over his shoulder and saw Ukyo run up, with Shampoo, Mousse, and Kuno right behind them.

          "Glad you could join the party."  Chris said.

          "Sorry we're late, Sugar."  Ukyo answered.  "We had a little trouble of our own."

Vega saw that he was again outnumbered and once more turned to leave, only to find his path blocked by Ranma and Akane.

          "You're not going anywhere pal!"  Ranma said, cracking his knuckles.  "Time for round 2!"  Vega suddenly found himself under attack from all sides.  But he was not out of the fight yet.  Using his freakish flexibility, he weaved himself outside the group and took a mighty swing with his claw, forcing the group to spread out a bit.  He then snapped a kick into Ranma's gut, while at the same time leveling Shampoo with a shot to the jaw with his bare fist.  He didn't have enough time to recover, though, before Ukyo slammed her spatula into the leg that was still planted on the ground.  As he hobbled back, Kuno's bokken streaked in and connected with the side of his head.  Chris then grabbed his head and slammed his face into his knee, shattering his mask.  When Vega looked up, everyone saw that he was one of those people who had a face to pretty for their own good.

          "Go for the face!"  Chris shouted.  He leapt forward, but was forced to check himself in mid air to avoid a claw sing.  Ranma came from behind and gave a savage kick to the back of Vega's knees, causing him to stumble forward.  Shampoo blasted him with a good kidney shot form her bonbori, and Ukyo smacked him full in the face with the flat of her spatula.  Vega staggered away, clutching his face.  When he took his hand away, his nose was crushed and streaming blood, and he was considerably less pretty.

          M…my face!  You ruined my beautiful face!  Bitch, I'll kill you!"  Vega then attacked Ukyo with suck renewed ferocity, that it was all she could do to avoid him.  At one point, one of his kicks disarmed her and he went for the killing blow.  Chris came flying in and tackled Ukyo away, taking the claw in the shoulder.  He rolled and hit the ground, shielding Ukyo from the impact as much as possible.  Mousse sent out a mini-claw attached to a chain, which latched onto Vega's claw, preventing him from using it.  Another chain shot out and wrapped around his legs, pinning them together.  Ranma descended on him with an Amaguriken, and Akane, Shampoo, and Kuno helped clean up.  When they were finished Vega was left sprawled on the ground, out cold.  Mousse used a few more chains to tie him up, then they went to check on Ukyo and Chris.  Chris was holding a hand to his shoulder, trying to staunch the flow of blood.  The cuts were long, but not very deep.

          "Thanks for saving me there, Chris.  I thought I was done."  Chris flashed another of those smiles that did funny things to her stomach.  "Hey, think nothing of it."  He got to his feet and went to retrieve his coat, pulling it on, wincing slightly at the pain in his shoulder.  "What did you say kept you from coming to help sooner?"

          "Some strange men come and attack Nekohanten.  Ukyo and Kuno too."  Shampoo said.

          "Strange how?"

          "Very odd, these men were Chris Lewin."  Kuno supplied.  "Nay, not men, but robotic constructs.  They were all exactly identical in appearance, and bore the same symbol upon their shirts."

          "Can you describe it?"

          "Look like skull with wings on side,"

Chris' eyes widened.  "A skull with wings?  That sounds like Shadowlaw."

          "Shadowlaw?  The international terrorist organization?"  Ranma said.

          "You've heard of them?"  Akane asked him.

          "Pop told me about 'em.  Said they sometimes look for good martial artists to recruit."

Chris 'hmmed' "So, Vega must've been working for them, but why would he be after me?"

          "Speaking of which."  Mousse said.  "What do we do with our erstwhile bullfighter?"

Chris shrugged.  "Leave him for Shadowlaw to find.  They'll take care of him.  From what I've heard, they don't take failure lightly."

Later that week found Ranma and Akane walking in the park.  It was the perfect summer day, and Akane had dragged Ranma out, saying she wanted to finish the conversation they started the night they helped take Vega down.  Ranma had been silent the whole time, as Akane led them to a small corner of the park, away from the midday crowd.  She turned to face him.

          "Okay Akane.  You brought me out here, what's this all about?"

          "Ranma, do you remember when I said there was something I wanted to know?"

Ranma began to look slightly uncomfortable, but nodded, waiting for her to go on.

          "Well, what I want to know is how you feel?"

          "About what?"

          "Me, us, our engagement."

          "Ah, jeez Akane…."

          "Ranma, please!"  This has gone on for over a year now!  I _need to know where you stand on this!"_

Ranma took a deep breath and thought back to the conversation he had with Chris a few nights ago.  He had seen this coming for a while now, and had sought Chris' advice.

          "Well, how do you feel about her?"  Chris had asked.

Ranma looked around the room, as if checking for bugs or hidden cameras.  With Nabiki around, that wasn't out of the question.  Then proceeded to speak in a low voice.  "I don't know. I guess I've grown to kinda like her…"

Chris listened to what he said, hearing the words within the words.  "Well, why don't you tell her?"

Ranma fidgeted.  "I'm not really good with that kinda stuff.  Pop never did a very good job of developing my people skills, especially with girls."

          "Well Ranma.  The only advice I can really give you is to just come out and tell her.  It may not be easy, but no one's gonna do it for you.  And she'll go on thinking you don't."

          "But I've said so many things to make her mad.  And she does too."

          "Ranma, that's natural.  People get angry.  You just have to think about what you say before you say it, so you don't end up with your foot in your mouth."

          "Yeah, I guess you're right."

          "Now, let me ask you this: Do you want to stay engaged to her?" 

Ranma nodded.

          "Okay, last question.  Do you want to marry her?"

Ranma was quiet for a long time, before finally whispering. "Eventually, someday."

Chris clapped Ranma on the shoulder.  "There you go.  Good luck pal."

          "Well?"

Ranma snapped back to the present, realizing Akane was still awaiting his answer.

          "Come on Ranma.  We're all alone here, no one's gonna hear what you say, so please tell the truth."

Ranma took another deep breath and launched forward.

          "You're right Akane.  This has gone on long enough.  I say thing I shouldn't, and I'm sorry for that.  The truth is…"  Ranma began to falter again.  He took a few more steadying breaths and recalled Chris' advice.  "I actually, ummmm, like you…"

Akane blinked as she ran Ranma's speech through her head a few times, making sure she hadn't imagined any of it.  He had said he liked her!  Not loved, but she couldn't ask for too much too soon.  This was a start.  "So, I'm not a tomboy?"

          "Oh, you're still a tomboy."  Ranma smirked a bit.  "but I've always kinda liked tomboys.  Especially cute ones."

Cute!  First 'like', then cute!  Akane's head was reeling.  She wasn't quite ready to believe everything was fine and dandy just yet, though.  "What about Shampoo, and Ukyo?"

          "Shampoo's a nice girl, most of the time.  But I don't want to marry her, especially not because of some stupid law.  You have to see that."

Akane nodded.  "You're right, now that I look back on it.  I just got too jealous when she was glomping you to notice."

Ranma grinned.  "Aha! So you _were jealous!"_

Akane looked down at her feet, a little sheepish.  "Yeah, I guess."  Then she looked up.  "And Ukyo?"

Ranma shrugged.  "I like Ukyo a lot.  She's been my best friend since we were kids.  But that's all she's been, even if Pop did run off with her father's cart, the supposed dowry.  When I called her cute, I thought it would snap her out of her funk and inspire her to find a man.  Not fall in love with me."

Akane nodded, her hopes getting higher and higher.  Then she giggled.  "I don't think I have to ask about Kodachi, do I?"

Ranma snorted.  "For the love of Kami, no."

          "So you really like me?"

Ranma nodded.

          "Like me enough to stay engaged to me?"

Ranma nodded again.

          "Like me enough to kiss me?"

Ranma hesitated.  He began to grow nervous.  Akane couldn't really blame him.  He had only really got five kisses in his life, none of them that great.  The first was the Kiss of Death, when he beat Shampoo as a female.  Then came the one from Mikado Sanzenin, also as a female.  That had been his first kiss, a very traumatic experience. Then there was the kiss Shampoo had given him when she decided he would be husband.  Then there was the time she, Akane herself, had "kissed" him, when they put on the play Romeo and Juliet.  She had covered his mouth with duct tape.  She still kicked herself when she thought about that day.  And the last…the last he had given to her while under the influence of the Neko-Ken, and he couldn't even remember it if he tried.

Ranma looked down at her trying to stay calm.  She wanted him to kiss her!  But why was he so nervous?  She looks so cute.  But what if it doesn't go right?  This is a big step, but what if…?  Then, apparently, Akane decided to take matters into her own hands, because she grabbed his head, pulled his face down, and kissed him herself.  Ranma stood stock still.  His brain went numb, and it took a few moments for him to register what was happening.  Then, he slowly started to realize (Hey, this feels…..pretty good.  Right even!)  And he finally melted into it, kissing her back.  For once, the world didn't seem like such a bad place.

End Book 1 


End file.
